


Hoist the Sail

by jestbee



Series: Ships verse [3]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pride, VidCon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 19:30:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15031664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jestbee/pseuds/jestbee
Summary: It's his life and he wants to proud of it. Proud of Dan and his constant support, his selflessness each and every day. Even on the bad days.Set two years after the ending ofShips that pass in the night





	Hoist the Sail

**Author's Note:**

> I know this isn't the smutty epilogue to [Ships that pass in the night](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11266017) I promised, but I felt like Ships!Phil deserved this one.
> 
> Written for the @Phandomficfests Pride Flash Fest 2018

If possible, there are even more YouTubers now. Phil looks out past the stage curtain at the bright lights and the jerky undulation of colourful flags in the audience and swallows heavily. 

"Hey," Dan says beside him, "You don't have to." 

"I do," Phil says, "I'm on the bill." 

Dan slips a hand into Phil's in the dark shadow of the curtains and squeezes gently. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I just… what if they ask about you?" 

Dan shrugs. "They might." 

Dan looks a bit hesitant, like his decision not to join Phil on the panel might have been wrong after all. 

On stage, Tyler Oakley is talking at volume about Pride and YouTube and asking the crowd of viewers and other YouTubers if they're ready to hear from some out-and-proud creators. 

Phil had made the video two months. Dan standing off to the side of the camera smiling at him encouragingly. He'd talked about his anxiety and the effect that it had on him, he talked about being queer and how that all came full circle in his head sometimes. He told people that if they felt the same they should find someone to talk to, someone they trusted. That they were normal, that they didn't need to be fixed. His eyes had flicked up to meet Dan's soft gaze and he hadn't edited out the smile that tugged at his mouth. 

Dan hadn't been part of it. He'd have been happy to, he said, but just like when Phil had got the invitation to appear on a Q&A panel about lgbt+ YouTubers and how they expressed Pride on their channels, he'd been supportive of Phil doing it alone. He agreed that it was important for Phil to face his demons, but he'd reassured Phil that he'd be there anyway, always cheering him on. From behind camera, from the wings of a stage. 

"What do I say?" Phil says.

Phil is here because he's only recently come out. He doesn't have a back catalogue of being out in the way the other people on the panel do so he can offer a view on what his plans might be going forward. But he doesn't know what they are, this isn't part of his 'brand' it's just… part of him. One he doesn't want to hide anymore. 

He can have Pride and be quiet about it, right? 

He remembers back when he and Dan had finally sorted things out. Standing in the radio station and telling Dan he'd always want to hide. That he'd never want to… do anything like this. 

Somewhere over the past two years something has shifted. It has nothing to do with people on Twitter or feeling like he owes his personal life to anyone, Dan would never let him think that. But he does feel like he wants to let some of his guard down, live a little bit more freely. 

It's his truth, his life, and he wants to be a bit proud of it. Proud of Dan and his constant support, his selflessness each and every day. Even on the bad days. 

"You say whatever you want to," Dan says, squeezing his hand again. 

"About you?" 

Dan looks over at him, tugging on Phil's palm to get him to turn too. 

"We've talked about this," he says, "you know how I feel." 

"I know. I… I'm sorry. I don't know if…" 

"Phil. I mean it. You can say whatever _you_ want to." Dan runs his over hand lightly down Phil's arm, fingers trailing. "I'm happy if you don't want to tell anyone about us, I'm happy if you want to get up on that table and shout about it to everyone in the room. I've told you… we'll take this at your pace." 

Phil shakes his head, marvelling at Dan. He sucks in breath, stealing himself, and darts forward to capture Dan's mouth in a brief kiss. It's fleeting, lasting only a second or two, but it's new. They don't usually do that in spaces like this. 

Dan looks a bit startled as he pulls back, but the dimple in his cheek dips in with a small smile and Phil can see he's trying to hold it together, not react too wildly for fear of scaring Phil off. 

Then Tyler is calling his name from the stage and it's time to go. 

"Good luck," Dan says. "I'm proud of you.I love you." 

Phil finally pulls away, Dan dropping his hands back to his side with an encouraging nod. 

"I love you too," Phil says, and steps out into the lights of the stage.


End file.
